Another Chance
by sierragust
Summary: Seda was supposed to be dead after he stabbed himself in an attempt to stop the Dark Genie from gaining access into his mind, only to get saved in the last minute by a mysterious young girl named Xion.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: This is going to be my first, full-length romantic **_**Dark Cloud**_** crossover story, this time, with **_**Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days**_**. If you're new to this story, you can look up the characters on the various wikis. Another thing that is worth mentioning is that this fic is very slightly AU, which means that, in addition to being a crossover, it also takes place in a different universe than the original games. Most things are the same, but there are slight differences here and there. When you see these changes I made, don't go into a fanboy rage and write a bunch of flame reviews. Thank you for your maturity.**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either Dark Cloud or Kingdom Hearts. Sorry.

**X~X~X**

_(Taken from "Chapter 1: Leaving Hope" of "The Persistence of Loss" by TrippyToasters)_

Xion lay on her back in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling of her bedroom. It was gray, like everything else in The Castle That Never Was. Normally the gray didn't bother her, but today it felt different. After passing through so many worlds with Riku, the dullness of this place seemed almost to taunt her. It was reminding her how trapped she was, how no matter what she did, the whole mess she called her life was going to end with someone hurt.

The gray was everywhere. She could turn her head and look at something else in her bedroom, but that would be pointless. Everything in the castle was dull and lifeless. Xemnas and his followers were obsessed with the concept of their own nothingness. It was mostly Xemnas' thing, for sure. But they all desired to have hearts, whether they showed it or not.

The dullness of the place was intentional, she was sure. The Nobodies had chose a place that reflected their true nature. Their true nature as nothing, merely empty shells of something that was once beautiful. Without hearts, they were essentially a violation of the laws of nature. These hearts they so desired, but could never have, as Xion now knew. Kingdom Hearts would grant Xemnas power, but they were all stuck without hearts. Trapped forever as Nobodies...

But Xion wasn't a Nobody, like they were. She was a Replica, and an imperfect one at that. They were more real than her, as ridiculous as that sounded. Her very existence was unstable, and prolonging it only put the others in danger. Being around Roxas slowly drained his energy, and would eventually kill him. And not to mention poor Sora. If she did not die, he would never be able to wake up.

So whatever time she had was borrowed time at best. She would have to face her destiny at some point, but she could at least enjoy a few more sunsets with Roxas and Axel before she had to die.

She hated it, but there was nothing she could do. Anyway she could possibly try to resolve this with her survival would only make things worse. And if she did find some way to continue existing, would it still be her? Or would Sora's memories morph her into somebody else entirely? She could become some twisted imitation of Sora, or perhaps Kairi. She already was an imitation of Kairi, in a way.

Who was she truly? Was there a person buried beneath all those memories who was the true Xion? She wasn't particularly bound as the black haired girl that everyone saw. She knew Xigbar saw her as someone else, as she had read his journal. And she knew Saïx saw her as an empty puppet, but whether that was only in nature or in his very vision of her was something she could not be sure of. And Xemnas saw her as Sora, but that was understandable, as that was what he truly wanted.

So who would she be if the memories that her present form was built on were stripped away? The black haired girl? Sora? Or just a dead, empty shell?

Probably the latter, she thought grimly. She clenched her eyes shut, tired of the empty grayness around her, and tired of her splitting headache. She rubbed her eyes, wishing she had something to do. It was too early to go to sleep, but the last thing she wanted to do was go out to the Gray Area and be around the other Organization members. People who pretended to be friendly while plotting to kill each other. Everything they did was fake. Right now, all she wanted was to be around something real.

Sighing, she sat up on her bed and summoned her keyblade. She looked over it, thinking of all the Heartless she had slain with it. Despite all the battles it had experienced, there wasn't a single niche or scratch on its shiny surface.

It wasn't her keyblade. Nor was Roxas' his. They both came from Sora, so they had access to his skills. What right did she have to work against him with his own tools? She sent the keyblade away and stood up. She paced around her room for a while, rubbing her temples. She didn't know why her head hurt so much, but it probably had something to do with Sora. Everything had to do with Sora.

Sora was starting to piss her off. He wasn't even conscious right now, yet everything still revolved around him. Riku was working to wake him up, and was more than willing to destroy both her and Roxas to do so. Naminé was trying to piece back together the memory she destroyed, the memories that were giving Roxas hallucinations and were destroying her existence.

But Nobodies and Replicas weren't real, right? That's what they all said. They weren't real people, so they didn't have to be treated as such.

Xion clenched her fists. She was real! She had a body and a mind. She didn't have a heart, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel. Those days atop the clock tower proved that. She was a person, and she didn't deserve to be treated like a puppet. She deserved to have a happy ending just as much as Sora did.

She'd come to a decision. She was going to find a way to make it work. It was a shame that Sora would have to wait to wake up, but that was just too bad.

The last time she left the Organization, Axel had just brought her back. But she hadn't been as careful as she could have. She knew enough about the Organization to avoid them. They hadn't caught her, she had wanted to go back. To say goodbye to Roxas and Axel. To see her friends one last time.

She would leave to find a way for everyone to survive. Dying and returning to Sora was just giving up. She existed now, so they were just going to have to deal with that.

She stood up and went to her door. After listening for a second, she was sure nobody else was there. She slowly opened the door and poked her head out. As she suspected, the hallway was empty. She stepped out, and made her way down the halls, heading for the exit. She had to step outside of the castle before she could use a Corridor of Darkness. Otherwise, the others would know she was gone in a second. But getting to the streets would be easy.

Nothing was going to stop her now. She would fight them all for her right to exist.

**X~X~X**

Xion had nearly made it out of the Castle That Never Was, when she heard a voice behind her call out her name. The voice was so familiar, she knew who it was without even turning around.

"Xion..." Roxas said. "Where are you going?"

She stood with her back turned to him, knowing that if she saw his face it would bring her to tears. A funny thought, seeing as how she wasn't supposed to have a heart.

"I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back until I have a way to set things right." She forced herself to say.

"Don't do this." Roxas said, coming closer. "Axel just brought you back. They'll send him to do it again. Think of what will happen. Think of what Saïx will do to you, after running a second time. He let it go the first time, but he doesn't forgive twice."

She said nothing.

"Especially not for you. I don't know why he hates you so much, but I can't protect you from all of them. Please, Xion. Don't make them destroy you."

He stood just behind her now. Not turning to face him, she sighed.

"I wish things could just keep going the way they were." She said. "But it's over. Those days are gone. And if I want to hold on to anything, anything at all... Well, I have to do this. Otherwise, we'll never be able to have ice cream again."

"Why?" He demanded, grabbing her shoulder, and turning her around. "Why is everything so different now? Why won't anyone tell me what's going on?"

Her eyes were cast down. She just couldn't look at him.

"I wish I could tell you." She said. "But being near you is hurting you. And you're not the only one. I have to go and find a way. So that everyone can go on, and nobody will be hurt. He told me the only way for that was to die, but I know there's another way. Somehow..."

"Who told you that?" Roxas demanded. "That man you were with? The one who dresses like one of us? He's lying to you, Xion! Don't listen to him! I don't know who he is, but he's running around in our coat, pretending to be one of us. You can't trust somebody like that."

She slipped her hand from his grip and turned half away from him. "I don't know who I can trust anymore. I can't trust Xemnas, that's for sure. I have to leave, Roxas. Or everything is going to get much worse."

Roxas stepped back, a hurt look in his eyes. Xion struggled not to look at him.

"There is always the easy way." Xion said. "But that would destroy me. And you as well, in time. But I don't want to die. I refuse to accept that that's the only way. So I'm leaving, and I'll come back when I have a way for us all to survive. Then we can have ice cream again."

Roxas was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"So that's it, then. You have to go..."

He took her hand in his.

"Fine. Just be careful, okay?"

Xion met his gaze at last. He had a sad smile on his face.

"You, too. Don't be too trusting, Roxas. The Organization is built on lies."

She turned and started walking away. It hurt her to leave like this, but she had no choice. This was the only way.

"We're going to have ice cream again!" Roxas called after her. "Promise me!"

"We will!" She called back. "I promise!"

Xion stepped just outside of the castle, and summoned a Corridor of Darkness. She flashed Roxas a quick smile, and disappeared through it. After a few moments, Roxas walked back inside, muttering something to himself. Up on the balcony, overlooking the entire scene, a shadow stood behind a pillar, grinning.

"So, Poppet's gone again, huh... They just never learn, do they?"

**X~X~X**

Xion stepped out of the Corridor into a forest.

She was in a new world, one that she had discovered herself about a week before she had left with Riku. The rest of the organization had no knowledge of this world. Not to mention that the world was huge, larger than any she had been to before. Hiding here would be easy.

Blue Terra was a very unique world, very different from the ones Xion had been to before. It wasn't as developed as the other worlds, but that wasn't its most interesting feature. As far as she knew, the Organization wasn't even aware of it's existence.

The whole world was also different. How that was even possible was something Xion couldn't understand. Not to mention how it just... felt. There was something very strange about this place. It was like the very air was different somehow. It seemed a fitting place to begin her search.

Xion made her way through the forest. If her memory of this world was correct, she should be close to a large castle that used to belong to a young prince turned king four-hundred years ago. This was where she had arrived when she first came here, and she remembered a man-made gravestone carved out of a rock.

It was strange, because she didn't see the castle towers above the trees. Granted, it was night now, and it had been daytime when she first came here, but it wasn't really something you missed. She was certain she was on the right path, so she should be seeing it.

Her certainty was cast into doubt when she emerged from the forest to find a totally different scene than the one she expected.

The castle was utterly gone, replaced by a massive chasm that stretched all the way to the smaller mountains to the north. For a moment, she wondered where the castle had gone, but her question was answered when she spotted a jagged piece of land surrounded by a thick layer of violent clouds hovering in the heavens above.

She didn't know why, but the need to hurry there was stronger. She found herself summoning a Dark Corridor and appearing in the castle gates, pushing the door, that had a demon holding a scythe in its hand, open. Whatever force was pressing her on, she could not resist its urgency.

**X~X~X**

_(Taken from "__Chapter 1: The Prologue__" of "Memories of a Fallen King" by __kaehimi__)_

Seda felt the cold vine of the Dark Genie's powers grip his soul. It dug deeper and further within his heart. Like a parasite that would not release its hold, the Dark Genie only tightened his grip. Seda walked through his palace, now known as Dark Heaven Castle. "My castle sure has changed..." He remarked as he strode through the empty corridors, his footsteps echoing.

Lapse of Time…

Seda pulled out the large sword. It was made of a durable metal that shone, and upon its purple hilt glowed a red jewel. He shook with the effort of withstanding the Dark Genie's irresistible pull. "I am not yet ready to give up this body!" Seda yelled as he thrust the huge sword into his abdomen. "I will never surrender to the likes of you!" With his last strand of power, he opened the portal to the Gallery of Time. Gasping for his last breaths of air, Seda shouted to Toan, "Go!" And then darkness over took him as his life suddenly ended…

…when someone caught him just before he even hit the floor and right after Toan jumped into the portal leading to the Gallery of Time.

Confused, Seda opened his eyes to see a blurred face of a young girl with black hair and blue eyes before he once again slipped into unconsciousness.

"Please… don't go. You have to live…!" She said before she started dragging his body outside of the castle…

…Until both of them started falling to their demise after she accidentally lost her footing.

As they fell, Seda held her body tightly, not caring if the sword that was still lodged in his abdomen moved to the hilt.

**X~X~X**

_(Taken from "__Chapter 2: The Great Below__" of "The Persistence of Loss" by __TrippyToasters__)_

Xion tried to breathe, but found she couldn't. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing. Everything was so dark. She couldn't see, and she couldn't breathe. She tried to move her arms, but something firm held them at her side. Panicked, she tried to remember what had happened. All she remembered was trying to stop that man from stabbing himself in the abdomen and presumably dying from blood loss. They had both fallen.

Was she dead?

Xion desperately tried to do something, anything. Nothing seemed to be working. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She needed so desperately to breathe, but she just couldn't for some reason. Everything was so dark...

Her senses kicked in and she realized she was falling through the thick, sinister clouds.

That man she had tried to save... He was holding her very tightly. He had wrapped his arms around her as they had fell despite the fact that his sword was still lodged in his abdomen.

Quickly summoning a Dark Corridor, she fell into the dark vortex along with the man that she was trying to save, safely landing on the ground floor unharmed.

After catching her breath, Xion looked around, trying to gather her bearings. The moonlight was faint, but it was just enough for her to see something.

Walking up to the man that was still bleeding, she gripped his sword and started to slowly pull it out of his abdomen, trying her best not to throw up due to the oddly-colored dark blood that dripped off the large blade. After a while, she sheathed the sword, wiped it down, strapped it to her back, placed her hands over the huge slit in his abdomen and cast a cure spell.

Or at least she tried to cast cure. She spoke the words, but nothing happened. She cursed aloud when she realized she hadn't equipped any cure spells before she left.

What was she to do? If she didn't get him healed, he would definitely die from blood loss.

She figured she had to find some sort of shelter. The Organization members were all given basic survival training, in case of situations like this. It wasn't anything more than basic, since the Nobodies could just RTC if things got too bad. But she couldn't do that anymore.

She struggled on, more dragging the heavy warrior behind her than actually carrying him. If he hadn't been an idiot and stabbed himself in the abdomen, she wouldn't be lugging his fat ass across the ground. If and when he woke up, she would have strong words for him.

A thought then struck her. If she didn't have a heart, why was she trying so hard to save this total stranger? Why had she even bothered to try to stop him from killing himself, much less risk her own life to keep him alive? If the things Saïx had told her were true, she should have been impartial to the whole affair. She was sure the other members would have been.

Whatever the reason, Xion figured she could worry about it later. Right now, she needed to find a safe place. She scanned around, looking for some sort of cave or something. As if her prayers had been heard, she quickly spotted an abandoned building that looked like a temple of some kind. She grunted as she opened the large door of the temple, the door groaning so loud she was worried the Organization would hear it all the way in their castle.

Opening the door to one of the guest rooms, she pulled the man up in the bed, and started stitching his abdomen up with some white bandages that she found after she pulled the black vest off and sewed it up, along with his black boots and gauntlets, hoping to stop the continuous bleeding due to the mysterious dark blood and changing them every now and then. She wasn't touching his pants. Screw it, those stayed on.

Xion needed to find a way back up the dark castle. She needed to get to a village and steal some local clothes. She would never be able to hide from the Organization if she ran around in their cloak. She needed to blend in. A dark corridor would get her up there, but she suspected that the Organization could track those, and if so, she had to avoid using them. If that was so, they'd already know she was here.

She had to lie low for a little while. The Organization would be looking for her pretty actively at first. But if she could avoid them, they might assume her dead and relax their search. Perhaps if they figured she'd fallen in the thick layer of violent clouds, they would assume she'd died. That would be a much needed-blessing.

Either way, she had to get Xemnas and his gang off her trail before she could focus her efforts on finding a way to solve the issue with Sora's memories.

Perhaps she could find someone like Naminè. Someone who had power over memories. Naminè couldn't be the only person with those abilities out there, in all the worlds. Maybe instead of just moving the memories around, they could find a way to duplicate them. Then Sora could get his memories back, and Xion could stay intact. If it was possible to make two copies of the same memory... That might actually work.

Was that possible? If so, had Naminè even considered such an approach? Or did that red guy just want them all gone, and had pushed her towards the easy way? She didn't like that red guy.

All Xion knew was that she couldn't trust either side right now. The Organization would want her destroyed after running away a second time, and Riku and Naminè wanted to turn her into Sora-food. If she wanted to live, she had to avoid them both.

She looked outside. The sun was starting to rise. It reminded her of those times with Roxas and Axel atop the clock tower.

The silver-haired man groaned in pain as he started to slowly open his eyes. She turned to him, worried that he was waking up. But he kept them closed and turned away from her. He must be sleeping now, she figured.

She turned back to watch the sunrise. It was always breathtaking, no matter what world it occurred on.

When she stitched his black vest together, she would just leave his sword in its scabbard.

**X~X~X**

Seda could feel his heart racing as he slowly opened his eyes and saw a high ceiling in his view as he slowly got up, immediately groaning in pain as he pressed his hand against his abdomen, only to find that there were bandages tightly wrapped around the area where he stabbed himself after fighting off the Genie's power in order to prevent the Dark Genie from invading his mind. As he felt the bandages around his abdomen, Seda noticed that they were covered in dried-up purple blood before he took them off and saw that he had a huge scar on his abdomen where the bloody slit used to be. Looking around even further, he found a small trash can filled with crumpled-up bloody bandages, most of the blood belonging to him before he saw that his sword was missing.

As he pulled his black boots back on, he noticed a huge tear in his black vest from when his sword made contact with his skin and flesh, noticing that there was a thin piece of black fabric sewn into the hole in the vest before he heard a familiar voice.

"I see that you're awake at last, Seda."

Tearing his eyes away from adjusting his gauntlets, he caught the eyes of a very familiar, wizened face.

"Simba?!" Seda asked, looking at the Fairy King in shock. "Are you the one that saved me?"

Simba gave him a calm, sympathizing look, lightly pushing Seda back down on the bed.

"Simba, please! I need to-"

"Shhhh!" Simba said, placing his finger to Seda's lips. "You'll find out in due time."

With that, he tapped his staff upon the floor, disappearing in a flash of white light, leaving behind a confounded Seda.

Unable to shake the curiosity and slowly opening the door to the hall, Seda then realized that he was inside the same shrine where he had witnessed the rebirth of the Dark Genie, but the entire shrine was empty, as he realized that Flagg was already dead due to the Genie leaving his body and Toan was traversing through the Gallery of Time to find the pieces of his memories that lead to the birth of the dark demon.

But who was the one that saved him from the brink of death and healed him up?

Seda paused; he was quickly approaching the opposite side of the room, and had not yet formulated a plan. He needed a way to find out who or what was the one that saved him. He had racked his brain and figured that it was Toan or any of his friends that saved him, but scratched it off his head.

Pushing it out of his mind with great difficulty, Seda sighed and opened the door leading to one of the guest rooms within the shrine, immediately seeing the raven-haired young girl from before leaning against the window, watching the sun rise. He saw his sword propped up against the wall on her side. It appeared she didn't trust him.

Quietly shutting the door behind him, Seda stepped into the room, trying not to alert her of his presence as he looked at her watch the rising sun. Although he couldn't see her eyes, he thought that they were the same color as Sophia's. As she continued looking at the sunrise, he cleared his throat, making her jump and look at him with an almost-identical pair of aquamarine eyes that Seda could've sworn that his heart leapt when he caught hold of them, but shook it off.

"Morning." He said, smiling at her.

"You're awake..." She said cautiously.

"I am now. Sorry about worrying you like that. I appreciate you trying to stop me, though."

"I'm sure you would have done the same."

"My name is Seda."

She said nothing. He noticed her eyes trailing to her coat, a small blush painting her face. Seda grinned before he realized something clicked in his head.

"You saved me?" He asked her.

She nodded.

"So, if you saved me." Seda said, shifting slightly against the wall as he tried not to get comfortable. "What's your name?"

"Xion."

"That's an interesting name." He said. "I've never heard one like that before. What does it mean?"

Xion considered. "In a way, it means I'm not real."

"That's not true." Seda said, looking at her. "You seem pretty real to me."

She said nothing.

"Anyway, there's something that I would like to get in Queens." Seda said, opening the door to the foyer as he felt one of his legs almost fall asleep. "You're welcome to come along."

"Can I trust you?" Xion asked.

"You can. But I will need my sword back."

She'd entirely forgotten about his sword. She quickly grabbed it and handed it to him. She was already fully dressed, save her large black coat. "Although, it doesn't surprise me. Nobody in Terra ever dressed like that. I assume you wear that to blend into the night?"

"You could say that." Xion answered. "I need new clothes, though. These have too many memories."

Good. She seemed to be loosening up. Perhaps he could figure out exactly what was going on.

"Where are you from, Xion?" Seda asked, looking at her.

She thought about it for a minute. "A kingdom far from here."

"Where at?" He asked. "I've been all over Blue Terra. Wherever it is you're from, I've probably already been there."

"Not this place. I can't really tell you, it's kind of hard to explain."

As they made their way past the headstone that was made out of a single rock after he saw the crippled and lifeless corpse of Flagg, Seda gently rubbed the mold off of the name etched into the face of the rock as he fought the urge to not cry.

_'Sophia… I'm sorry for breaking my promise to bring you back…' _Seda thought as he shut his eyes painfully.

"What's wrong?" Xion asked, noticing his expression.

Seda shook his head, getting up off the ground.

"Nothing." He said, looking at the grave one more time before they continued onward.

**X~X~X**

After a few years of nonstop traveling, the two finally reached Queens, Seda noticing the look in Xion's eyes at the sight of the ocean before he started heading into town. As they made their way into town, Seda tried his best to implicitly ignore the obvious stares from the town-folk as he strode with his regal air through Queens, immediately realizing that the townspeople were looking at his companion.

"It's this outfit." She told him. "I hate it. I just want to get out of it, as soon as possible."

Indeed, she could feel her strange clothes drawing the eyes of the townspeople around her. Every one of them seemed to be a screeching alarm announcing her presence to the Organization.

Seda nodded before he gave her a small, see-through bag of coins.

"Here. There's a clothing store somewhere in town. I'll meet you at the church."

Xion found the general store and stepped inside. It was empty, save for a shady gemstone dealer behind the counter, who was also giving her a death stare.

She quickly picked a black shirt, some travel clothes, and a dark cloak. She paid the gemstone dealer and ducked inside the bathroom to change. After shedding the only outfit she had ever worn, she pulled on her new clothes and stepped outside. The man at the counter was still staring at her.

Something was wrong here. It was only natural for her outlandish clothes to get her some looks, and being female would also guarantee some male eyes being drawn to her body, but this...

This was just creepy.

She quickly stepped outside. Almost as soon as she was through the front door, she heard the lock click behind her. The streets seemed to be empty now, and the sun was starting to set.

She breathed a sigh of relief. At least the townspeople were gone. She was about to head to the church located next to the unstable tower when her heart stopped.

"Hello, Xion."

**X~X~X**

Seda made his way over to a nearby water store, where he saw a bespectacled young woman, aptly named Suzy, getting her water barrels and jugs covered for the night.

"Hello. I'd like to have a bouquet of flowers, please."

"Alright, but you have to pay me." She said, looking at the fountain dreamily.

Checking to make sure that he had his money on him, Seda's heart stopped but he maintained composure. Xion had his Gilda! He would have to wait until she got back from her shopping.

"My companion has my money. I'll pay you as soon as she gets here." He said.

"Alright." She said, not taking her eyes off of the fountain.

Looking up at the blue sky, Seda unconsciously recalled the time that he almost lost consciousness after attacking Toan…

_(Taken from "__Chapter 7: According to Claude__" of "Atlamillia" by Zerrat) _

_Seda burst into being in the tiny cave in which he had taken refuge, his magic burning from his body in foul waves. He stumbled forwards, falling roughly to his hands and knees, his entire body trembling from effort, from… fear? Sweat trickled down his brow as he took a heaving breath._

_**That power… what was that?!**__ He gasped as he tried to crawl further into the warming mountain cave, but his muscles no longer seemed to obey his command. Futilely, he reached for Atonement's hilt before collapsing into a shaking heap._

_Unable to move any longer, Seda lay there, a pathetic and defeated heap in the mountain caves. Not the way for a man of his position to behave, but for now, he __**supposed**__ he could relax the rules… no matter how it set his teeth on edge._

_Despite his envy of the child's possession of the stone that Seda dared to tempt fate and __**help**__ the boy. He never knew when he might fall to the dark power inside him, but helping that boy, it was something. Something working towards his ultimate goal; atonement. Increasingly, it appeared that the boy's goals and his own were one in the same – perhaps, Seda had mused on more than one occasion, they could be considered allies. Grudging allies, of course, but…_

_He was hardly in a position to pick allies. This was a foreign land much different to his own; had the Dark Genie's attack truly reshaped so many of the lands? Even Nolun – a cursed name in his own heart – had changed so very much. But it was while he had been lurking in that town and placing useful items in chests, that he had felt __**it**__._

_A killing intent, so intense Seda had recoiled and nearly revealed himself to the village's inhabitants. He had quickly discerned the location of the spike – a nondescript barn with a river flowing beside it. Sure of himself and his own power, Seda had walked forwards – and that had been when the magical recoil had hit him. Like a weight pressed at him from every angle, a light so bright he had been blinded and a song…_

_But all around him, none of the villagers seemed to feel that incredible power. His skin felt as if it were aflame, his eyesight faltering then flaring back up, that heavy weight pressing into his lungs and heart until he felt he must be on his knees, screaming for it to stop-_

_**The boy snarled, driving the sax's serrated blade straight through Seda's heart.**_

_Something shattered the nightmare, something lucid and good, yet laced with a seductive call as dark and as dangerous as the demon's blood had been for Seda. Then it, too, faded, and Seda looked up with a gasp. The tip of a sax had been thrust straight through the wooden exterior of the barn, and suddenly Seda had known. It had taken him a few moments to get his mind together enough to shadow walk, and there he was. Almost sobbing from the fear he had felt in that moment, that feeling of excruciating magical energy being directed solely at him._

_He summoned the rest of his energy, and curling up into a tight ball, Seda's heart bled anew._

_"Sophia…"_

Seda's thoughts were cut off short when he saw a man wearing what looked like a police uniform, Wilder, run up to Suzy, gasping for breath as sweat dripped down his face and into his thick, black moustache that he proudly had on his face.

"It's her."

**X~X~X**

_(Taken from "__Chapter 3: Burn__" of "The Persistence of Loss" by TrippyToasters)_

Xion froze. She knew who it was just from those two words. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"New duds, huh? You'll never learn, will you?"

She slowly turned around to face him. Green eyes and spiky-red hair. The black coat of the Organization. He stood there, leaning against the nailed door to the unstable leaning tower between the store and the church.

"You knew what would happen, yet you ran away again." Axel said. "I'm disappointed in you, Xion."

"H-how did you find me so quickly?" She muttered.

"Xigbar overheard your chat with Roxas." He told her. "Roxas is in hot water, but that's nothing compared to you. Saïx wants you dead. He told me to not even bother bringing all of you back. Just your head."

Xion was struck. Not only by the fact that Axel was here, but also by how unflinchingly he spoke of decapitating her.

_He doesn't have a heart. Your death would mean nothing to him. Do not fool yourself into thinking that he's your friend._

"So, what?" She demanded. "Are you going to knock me out and take me back to them again? Just like you did in Twilight Town? Or are you going to kill me?"

Axel sighed. "Honestly, Xion? I'm not sure what to do with you right now. The Organization doesn't tolerate it when someone goes AWOL once. Your status as a Keyblade wielder was what saved you the first time. But after running twice? You know they won't let you live."

Xion took a step back. "I can't go back. I don't want to fight you Axel, but I will if I have to."

Axel laughed, stepping off the wall. "You think you can hold your own against me? How many times do I have to do this before you get the point, Xion? The Organization is all we have! It's not great, but it's better than nothing! And what little bit we do have, well you just keep throwing that away!" He approached her.

_He's going to attack you. You can't beat him. You're not strong enough. You have to flee._

"But where...?" Xion whispered.

_Seda can help you._

"What did you say?" Axel demanded. "Frankly, I'm in a pretty bad mood right now, Xion. It ticks me off that they keep sending me after you, and it ticks me off even more that you keep running in the first place. Do you have any idea how much I have to talk down Saïx just to keep you alive after all the crap you do? So if you have anything to say, say it now."

Xion summoned her keyblade.

Or at least she tried to. Usually there was a flash of light, and it appeared in her hand. But it never came. There was nothing.

"Oh, no..." She gasped.

Had she lost it again? No, that couldn't be it. The last time that happened, the flash of light would at least appear. But now, there was nothing... She was completely cut off.

"No keyblade, Xion?" Axel said. "That's fantastic. That'll help out so much when I try to argue you back into Saïx's favor. 'Yeah, she ran away, and she'll also useless to you, but you should still keep her alive for novelty value'."

In anger, she wished she could throw a fireball in Axel's face, but she couldn't even do that. She still didn't have any magic equipped. She had no keyblade and no magic. She was helpless. All she could do was back away from him.

_Keep him talking. Draw his attention to a different topic. Stall him._

"Some friend you are!" Xion spat. "Mocking and threatening me! I guess all those smiles and jokes up on the clocktower were fake too, huh?"

"Oh, you don't get to go there!" Axel said. "I never welcomed you into that ritual! That was Roxas and I. That was our thing! I was actually jealous when I found out he was taking you up there! But I said nothing, because I'm such a nice guy!"

"Yeah, we can see that." Said a new voice.

They both turned to the newcomer. Seda was leaning against the archway, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Seda…" Xion said, shocked.

"So this is your friend, huh Xion?" Seda asked, not taking his eyes off of Axel. "The one you told me about? Yeah, he's a keeper."

"Who's this, Xion?" Axel asked. "Your bodyguard?"

"Maybe." Seda said, sizing him up. "Nice hair."

"Speak for yourself." Axel replied. "You and Zexion would get along well, you both have such bad taste."

"The sheriff has been expecting you, it would seem." Seda said, looking at Xion. "Apparently, this guy here has been using them as his eyes and ears."

"Seda… how much have you heard?" Xion asked.

"Enough to realize that you've been keeping things from me." Seda said, still not taking his eyes off of Axel. "But also long enough to see why you have. An 'Organization' that wants to kill you? I can understand why you don't want to advertise that."

"Beat it, native." Axel said. "You don't want to get hurt. Just stay out of our business."

Seda fixed him with a look that made his blood freeze.

"I'm making it my business."

Axel laughed. "I don't think you realize just how lucky you already are. I've killed people twice as strong as you without a second's hesitation. Put your sword away and get out of here."

"I may not fully understand the circumstances here…" Seda said, resting his hand on his sword. "But I do know that I'm not about to stand by and watch you drag this girl off to her death."

Axel's face twisted into an ugly sneer. "You think you can take me?" Xion could barely recognize her friend right now.

Seda's answer was bringing his blade menacingly towards Axel's chest.

The air seemed heavier from the tension. Realizing that things were about to get ugly, she began to back away from the two men.

"Go ahead." Seda said, glaring at him. "Let's see you back it up."

Axel stretched his arms to his sides and summoned his chakrams in a burst of fire. "Fine! If you want to die, then let's go!"

The assassin threw one of his firey chakrams at Seda, who rolled out of the way before it even came close to him. Axel brought the other blade upon Seda as he drew near, aiming for the warrior's throat. The warrior blocked almost contemptuously and twisted the blade around, sending the chakram flying out of Axel's hand. The other chakram came spining back like a boomerang, returning to Axel's outstretched hand.

Axel jumped back a few feet, and summoned his missing chakram to his hand in a small burst of fire. Seda reversed the cut and crouched down low, waiting for Axel to make the next move. The assassin did so, charged forward with fire bursting out of the ground around him, his chakram blades raised.

Seda quickly conjured up a shield of ice as soon as he jumped out of the way, separating him from Axel.

"Is that all you've got?" Axel laughed, blasting away the wall with fire. The ice shield melted in a pool of water.

But Seda was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you?" Axel shouted. "Have you run away?"

There was no answer. Seda was nowhere to be found.

Axel turned back to face her. "He ran, that coward. Now Xion, where were we..."

Axel was so occupied talking to her, he didn't notice the heavy sound of boots landing a few feet away from him and immediately running up to him. Xion's eyes went wide, and Axel noticed this.

The assassin spun around, but too late. Seda's fist connected with Axel's jaw, and he was sent flying into one of the fish stands, dropping his chakrams. The blades disappeared as they hit the ground.

Seda must've punched him hard, because Axel was no light weight. The impact was so hard that Axel spun around and fell to his knees, spitting up blood.

The warrior stood over him, his arms crossed. "C'mon, get up. We're not done yet."

Axel climbed to his knees, and wiped the blood on his chin on the sleeve of his robe. "You're stronger than I thought. I'm gonna have to get serious about this!" He summoned his chakrams back and they continued their battle.

**X~X~X**

As the fight raged on, the city of Queens got ripped apart. Soon the street was littered through with crushed rock, scorch marks, and half-shattered stone archways.

Xion had stood on the sides the entire time, watching the battle unfold. Unable to use both keyblade and magic, all Xion could do was get out of the way. She would have helped Seda fight if she had a weapon, but even is that had been the case, she might have hesitated. She wanted Seda to win, so she didn't have to return to the Organization, but she also didn't want to see Axel get hurt, despite the things he had said to her earlier.

But Axel didn't want to kill her. His wisecrack about convincing the Organization to keep her had been cruel, but it also revealed what was in his mind. He wanted her to live, but he also didn't want to defy the Organization. He couldn't turn on them like she had done. He was afraid of them.

Perhaps his attitude was because of the indecision he was in. He didn't know who to side with, and it was stressing him, pushing him to his limits. He was on the verge of a breakdown.

Xion then got an idea. Perhaps if she calmed Axel down, and just explained to situation to him, he could help her. He'd gone against the Organization before...

But there was a problem. How could she do this while he and Seda were fighting to the death?

She jumped aside in surprise as a fruit crate near her burst apart, struck by a fireball. Not for the first time, she wished she could do something to help. She felt so useless.

**X~X~X**

Seda and Axel had been at it for a while. They both were showing signs of exhaustion, and their clothes were slashed up and burnt at the edges.

The two fighters were almost evenly matched. Axel fought aggresively, using his chakrams and fire magic to attack relentlessly. Seda, on the other hand, fought defensively, counter attacking Axel whenever he slipped up.

Despite their equal skill, the balance of power was beginning to slip. Axel's attacks were becoming more desperate, and his mistakes more frequent, as the battle raged on.

The fight was pretty much over, and Axel realized this. Seda could read it in his eyes. The man was tired, breathing heavily, and could barely muster the strength to raise his weapons and block Seda's attacks. Seda was exhausted as well, but nothing like man in front of him. The guy was panting like a dog.

Footsteps crunched through the rubble as Seda strode confidently towards him, sword in hand.

The Nobody looked up as Seda raised his sword. A smirk played on his lips for a moment.

"SEDA, NO!"

He blinked. Xion had grabbed his wrist, which was in the air. He was holding his sword above his head, ready to swing.

The fight was over. Axel was on the ground, and his chakrams were gone. The assassin's angry, sneering attitiude was gone, and he was almost crying as he begged quietly to Seda. Begging the former King not to kill him.

Seda turned around to face Xion. There was a look in her eyes. Something between concern and fear. Her eyes were so blue…

Like he was seeing a part of Sophia in them…

Seda slowly sheathed his sword. He couldn't remember getting to this point. He couldn't remember enjoying the thought of murdering another human being. Not after Sophia had died in his arms.

He was constantly masking the pain. It was a constant struggle, not to let any of it out.

His lips trembled momentarily. A bit of the pain was seeping through the shield he usually kept up. He just couldn't help it.

Xion noticed this. The fear vanished from her eyes, only the concern remaining. She pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around him.

She held him like that for a while. It had only been a few weeks, but he had almost forgotten what it felt like to be held that way. Time seemed almost suspended, but Seda was still aware of Axel's heavy, exhausted breathing.

Perhaps Xion realized that there was something wrong with him. A small part of him hoped this was true, but the rest was coming back to reality.

Xion finally broke the embrace. "Seda… are you alright?"

Seda didn't know what to say. So he just nodded.

She smiled. "Good."

Her strength gave out slightly and her eyes closed. Seda managed to catch her before she hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N: May you forever rest in peace, Christopher Lee…**

Disclaimer: I don't own either Dark Cloud or Kingdom Hearts!

_(Taken from "Chapter 3: Call to Cross the Ocean" of "Children of the Ages" by RisingWinter)_

The cave was different. Toan had rarely been in here before the Dark Genie came, and he'd never noticed how it felt then. After Dran was possessed, this cave became his first encounter with what Aga described in his journal – that unnerving, warmth-stealing phantom that lurked where fae creatures had red eyes.

But it wasn't like that now. Now, the cave was simply cool, and bats fluttered away at their approach. The halls were still an ever-shifting maze, but the staircase doors were all open, and Toan could see various creatures calmly going about their day in the caverns.

The Macho brothers were in one of those caverns, apparently having a weight-lifting contest with a group of dashers. Toan slowed down as he passed – those two had a few stories of times where some creature or another in the cave suddenly snapped and went on a rampage. Usually the stories were about how they would fight until Dran could intervene and calm the fairy, but there was one time that didn't work, and the brothers had had to kill a friend of theirs – a rockanoff, if Toan recalled correctly.

Was it possible for that to happen to Ruby? Or to Osmond, or Xiao?

He shook his head and jogged to catch up with Mom. He didn't know, really, what it took for the Dark Genie to be able to possess someone, and how it was different between humans and fairies – because he was _pretty sure_ it was different between humans and fairies – or even where the line between them lay. Because Xiao certainly wasn't a fairy, or a human, but how did the shape-change potion effect that? What about Osmond – was he a fairy, or something else?

And Ruby… well, the Dark Genie was a fairy, so she probably was too.

Well, what did it matter? If one of his friends was ever possessed, Toan could just deal with them the same way he and Xiao had dealt with Dran, and the same way they and Goro had dealt with Master Utan. There was no problem they couldn't solve when they all worked together.

And very few that Toan couldn't solve on his own.

"What are you thinking about?" Mom asked.

Toan hesitated, before answering honestly, "Just more things to call me insane for."

"Still, I'd like to know."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Mom set her jaw and looked away. They walked in silence through the corridors, the air between them hanging tense. Xiao padded along ahead of them, somehow seeming comfortable in spite of the taut nerves between Toan and his mother.

At last, they reached the final level. Here, Mom paused and Toan stepped forward to push open the door. He resisted the urge to draw his dagger, but couldn't stop from grasping its hilt. He knew Dran would be normal. Kind. Wise. As he was before the village was destroyed. As he had been since it had been restored.

But Toan remembered sprinting along the outside edge of this circular chamber, desperate to stay away from the fire that his village's protector rained down. And somewhat regretting his decision to leave the Chronicle Two home - after his mother had written him off as a nutcase, he'd opted to avoid letting her know about the incredibly powerful weapon that remained in his possession.

He took two deliberate steps inside and exhaled. The chamber was empty now, the air still. Calm. It didn't feel wrong, but he couldn't relax. The skin on his arms ached with the memory of burns, healed long ago.

If it never happened, how could he still feel this?

A shadow appeared in an alcove far above them, and Toan instinctively moved in front of his mother. She looked concerned, but in a distracted sort of way – thinking about things in the village, probably, rather than Dran. Because why should she be worried about Dran? He had only ever been a guardian to Norune.

The giant, fluffy dog-like Beast leaped from his alcove, his beating wings sending powerful gusts of wind through the chamber as he descended to the floor. The scent of the cave's spring water whirled around Toan, and his anxiety vanished as quickly as a scrap of paper thrown into a bonfire. He pulled his hand from his dagger's hilt and smiled as Dran touched down.

Dran plopped onto his stomach, head cushioned by his paws on the stone floor, so that he only needed to look down slightly to meet the humans' eyes, "I've felt the stirrings of bitterness and fear in the village. I'm glad you've come to me – what happened?"

Xiao pushed her head against Toan's shin, but he didn't speak. He didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to explain–

"Toan says the village was destroyed last year," Mom said, "He's speaking of traveling in time and seeing two moons in the sky. Please talk some sense into him."

Toan held in a groan.

"Mrrow!" Xiao meowed.

Dran looked at the cat, "Is that so?"

"Purrl, purrl, meow!"

"I see, I see."

"Meoww, mew. Mrrow–"

"Say no more. I understand."

Mom looked between the giant dog and the small cat, "Um, what…?"

"This is very concerning," Dran said, nodding sagely, "Very concerning indeed. Toan, you say you fought the Dark Genie itself?"

He fought the slight tremor of fear in his hands. "Yes." Silently begged for Dran to believe him.

"Interesting."

Mom frowned, "Dran?"

The Divine Beast closed his eyes for a few moments, then opened them again, "Renee, your son is not delusional."

Toan let out a breath and his hands stilled. Although, Mom… did not look happy.

Dran continued, "It is highly unusual for a human to remember another timeline, but there are certain conditions that allow it. It is… difficult to explain the workings of time to mortals, but at least know this – Toan, Xiao. The events you experienced never occurred, with the exception of the moment that caused the timeline to split. It is also true, Renee, that those experiences remain, and they are as valuable in this timeline as they were in the one in which they occurred. Do you understand?"

Toan nodded, understood enough. Mom, on the other hand, went still as a statue – a normal statue, that was. Not like the ones that roamed these halls.

At length, Mom muttered, "Then, Aga… he wasn't mad?"

"I never did meet him, Renee. I don't know his circumstances."

"The Fairy King told him what was going to happen," Toan explained, "All the things that got erased."

"Terra's bowels," Dran breathed, "A carry-over. Something stopped the ripples of cause and effect from reaching Aga. There are very few things with the power to do that, and the good ones would avoid it unless they were in dire need. Oh, this is bad…"

Finally, something Toan could understand. He took a step closer to the Divine Beast, "What can we do?"

"I would start by tracking down your father. Renee, do you know where he might be found?"

Mom shook her head. Xiao gave Toan a wide-eyed look, but he turned away from her. He knew what she was thinking – if they were right, then finding his father wouldn't be the hard part.

The hard part would be prying answers out of his cold, dead body.

"He was a wanderer to the end," Mom said. All of her agitation seemed to have melted away, replaced with tired acceptance, "It's been more than ten years – he could be anywhere in the world, and if he's not dead, then he's probably still on the move."

"That's where we'll go, then," Toan said. He wasn't sure what to expect out there, beyond the ocean – though Aga spoke of the lands to the west several times in his journal, he left a surprising amount to the imagination.

"How?" Mom asked, "How do you plan to do that? You need an airship to cross the ocean."

"Aga was able to build one practically on his own," Toan replied, "I'm sure Queens will have something that can do the job."

"… I suppose."

"I'll be fine, Mom."

His mother gave him a long look, then pulled him into a tight hug, "Promise."

"I promise."

"When will you go?" Her voice shook.

"It's going to be a long trip. We'll leave in the morning."

"We?"

"Meow."

Mom scrubbed at her face, "Oh."

**X~X~X**

_(Taken from "Chapter 4: The Line Begins To Blur" of "The Persistence of Loss" by TrippyToasters)_

Seda stared Axel straight in the eyes. Though his eyes were closed, Seda wondered how much the man was perceiving. He had certainly been unconscious when Seda dragged him up to his room in the Inn and bound him. The silver-haired King had also gagged him too, not wanting to listen to his annoying voice if he woke up.

On the other side of the room, Xion lay on the bed beside the window. It had been difficult, carrying them both, but Seda had managed to pull it off. The innkeeper had been rather freaked out when he arrived carrying two unconscious people, but Seda quickly paid for his room and gave the man a look that made his blood freeze.

The black coat he wore was so alien, too. The same coat that Xion had been wearing, so eager to get rid of.

Was Xion like him? Did she have the same abilities that he had? If so, why had she not fought back? She had told him the day before that Axel was her friend. Perhaps he had betrayed her.

Seda turned his head to glance at Xion. She slept serenely on the bed where he had placed her, wearing the new clothes she had picked out. Though it was no longer the black coat she was wearing, her new clothes were still pretty dark. Old habits, Seda thought to himself.

He'd hadn't even gotten the chance to figure out why she had passed out yet. She was such a mystery to him. He barely knew anything about her. Where she came from, how she grew up, what kind of friends she'd had in her youth. Not to mention what this 'Organization' was, or why she had left and hid from them.

Or what she'd done to make them want to kill her.

All he really knew about her was that she had three friends: Axel, Roxas, and some guy named Riku. Seda recalled her mentioning a Naminé. And he now knew that one of these three friends had tracked her down and tried to kill her.

Perhaps he was taking a huge risk, protecting her. Perhaps this organization would be after him now that he was involved.

The Organization seemed pretty serious, but Seda wasn't concerned with them right now. He was more interested in this Xion girl and her story.

And at that very moment, he wished he knew why she had passed out.

**X~X~X**

Three white, pod-like structures stood before a small, kneeling blonde girl in white. She was alone for the moment, but she figured that wouldn't last very long. She could already hear rushed footsteps echoing through the almost empty mansion, and being that there were only two other people in the building at the time, she deduced which were more likely to come to see her.

And she knew why he was coming, too. Why he was rushing with such haste. He had heard her scream.

The door burst open and DiZ rushed in, racing to her side.

"What happened?" His strong voice asked.

Naminé couldn't speak for the moment. She was struggling just to keep conscious. Her head hurt worse than she could ever remember it.

"Naminé!" DiZ demanded. "Are you okay? I heard a scream."

"Some..." She struggled to speak. "Something... happened..."

DiZ helped her to her feet. "What exactly?"

"Someone got..." She nearly fell over, suddenly very dizzy. DiZ caught her and kept her standing. "The connection... With the Nobody Xion..."

"What connection?" DiZ asked her.

"The one I... I had with her." Naminé felt short of breath. "As she's part... Of Sora... Someone broke it..."

Realizing that she needed a minute to recover, DiZ led her to her drawing room, where she sat down at her desk. She rested her head in her hands.

"What exactly happened?" DiZ asked her once she had recovered a bit.

"Xion fled from the Organization three days ago." Naminé said. "To a world I've never seen before. I know this, because she came from Sora, and all the pieces are connected. I was trying to track her through this, trying to find a way to retrieve Sora's memories from her. But she decided something, and fled from the Organization."

"And what exactly did she decide?" DiZ asked.

Naminé shook her head. "I'm not sure. But it involved strong feelings against Sora and the Organization."

DiZ scoffed at the idea of Nobodies having any feelings at all. Naminé didn't notice this, as she was still recovering from her incident.

"And why did this connection break, then? Surely the Nobody was not able to do something psychic enough to do you physical harm."

Naminé rubbed her head as he mentioned it. Just the memory of the attack was enough to make her head hurt. "No, it wasn't her. It was... something else... Something very old and powerful."

"Were you able to see what it was?" DiZ inquired.

"Just a glimpse." Naminé shuddered. "And it looked like-"

Naminé was cut off as the door to the room they were in burst open, and a figure garbed in the black coat of the Organization entered. They took no alarm to this, however, as the silver hair and blindfold the figure wore revealed its identity immediately.

"The Organization is in chaos." Riku said as he approached them. "They're having problems with their Keyblade wielders. Both of them."

"We were just discussing exactly this." DiZ said. "It would appear that the one you had been with before fled from them. But not to us, as you told me it would."

Though his blindfold hid his eyes, Riku's expression could still be read by him biting his lip. "I thought I had gotten through to her. I don't know what she's doing now..."

"Gotten through to it?" DiZ nearly laughed. "It doesn't have a heart. It cannot reason the way that we do."

Naminé cast her eyes down.

"As for the other..." Riku informed them. "Sora's Nobody, Roxas. They're having trouble with him, as well."

"In what way?"

"He's become insubordinate. He overheard them discussing Xion's fate and turned violently against them. They're holding him there now, but he refuses to work for them any longer. I don't doubt that if they had another keyblade wielder with them, he would no longer live."

"Which would make no difference to us." DiZ said, turning back to Naminé. "So long as Naminé is able to get all the pieces of Sora back where they belong. In the end, both Nobodies will have to die for that."

"It doesn't have to end the way you think it will, though." Riku told him.

"Riku, do not waste your empathy on these creatures." DiZ said, turning to leave. "They wouldn't do the same for you."

As DiZ vanished from the room, Naminé looked up at Riku. "Are you..." She began, before being cut off once again.

"I'm trying as hard as I can to get them all here." He said. "But it isn't easy when Xion is running about and Roxas is stuck in that fortress."

"I was going to ask you if you were going after Xion..."

Riku shook his head. "I don't even know where she went. Do you?"

"I don't know what the world is called, but it's a world farther out than the others. There are no Heartless there, but there are beasts native to it that are just as dangerous."

"Would a Corridor of Darkness be able to reach this world?" Riku asked.

"That's how Xion got there, but then... something noticed her."

Riku paused for a moment. "What did?"

Naminé looked down, almost afraid. "I've never seen anything like it. The most powerful being I even saw was Marluxia, and he would have been as useless as a kitten compared to this creature. It shattered my connection to her so violently that it almost knocked me out. It hurt Xion too, I think."

Riku was hesitant. He knew where Naminé was going with this. She didn't want him to go after Xion, because this being scared her.

"So what should I do?" He asked.

Naminé shook her head. "It wants Xion. It won't let us get near her, it told me that before it shattered our link."

"But we have to bring her back, or Sora will never wake up!"

Naminé cast her eyes to the floor. "I know but... this monster cannot be fought. Riku, if you go to that world, this creature will kill you."

**X~X~X**

As Xion slowly opened her eyes, she realized that she was in a place she had never been before. A cold breeze drifted through, cutting through her clothes and sending a waking shiver down her spine. She sat up and felt plush carpet under her boots.

The fire crackled brightly in a fireplace at the far end of the room as she landed in what looked like a royal bedroom about half the size of her old bedroom back at the castle. She quickly scanned the area, her Organization skills of recon serving her well. She noticed a row of torches lined stone walls. She turned to see a sheer-draped canopy bed that was neatly made. Looking around even further, she saw what looked like Seda hugging a beautiful young woman who was lying in his lap, tears dripping from his eyes. His clothes looked different than what he had on when they first met. Instead of the open-chested black vest that he wore when she met him, he instead wore a royal red coat with golden frills upon it that had a long robe that extended at the bottom, and buttoned together at the top, also embedded with rubies along with a golden headband.

"Where am I?" She asked, looking around the room.

_This is the private room of the King._

Xion looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. All she could see was the light from the moon illuminating the night sky. She was certain it was not her voice, but she could faintly remember hearing it before…

Of course! It was the same voice she had heard during her encounter with Axel. As someone used to memories and images that didn't belong to her popping into her head, it hadn't really concerned her until now.

But it bothered her now, as it was reacting to events as they occurred, so it was obviously not leftover memories from Sora.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

_I will show myself. Do not be alarmed._

She tried not to be as the being speaking to her manifested itself before her. What it was was a ghostly ether of a beautiful young woman with light-brown colored hair that was tied in a bun. She had light-blue eyes, and wore a long-sleeved orange dress with white frills on the arms. She also wore a necklace with a gem on it, along with a pink diamond on the front of her dress.

"Who… who are you?" Xion asked in awe. She had never seen anything like her before.

The woman's lips curled up as she smiled, "_My name is Sophia. You are no doubt wondering why I have brought you here. All that will be revealed in due time. First, you must realize that you are dreaming._"

Xion hadn't realized that. "Then wait, this isn't real?"

_This place is long-since forgotten in the past 400 years. I am real, but your presence here is not. I am communicating with you through your mind._

"I think I understand." Xion said. The young woman smiled at her.

_That is good, because we have much to go over. Next, I will bring to your attention that the girl you know as Naminé was attempting to track you._

"She was?" Xion exclaimed. "Was she going to send Riku after me?"

_I do believe that was her plan. But do not fret, as her connections to you have been severed. This process turned out to be rather sudden, but I did so because she was close to determining your location. The severing process also knocked you unconscious, and as I needed to speak with you, it worked out in our mutual favor._

"Why do you need to talk to me?" Xion asked.

_Certain events are due to take place, which will go against my interests. As I am limited in my resources at the moment, I will need you to prevent these from happening. In exchange, I will reveal to you the answer to your prayers. The existence that you so seek, in which you are a free being and the boy Sora may awaken. I can give this to you._

"You can?" Xion exclaimed, trying hard to contain her excitement. She had hardly believed it was possible, but she had held out hope, and it had paid off!

_Indeed. It is more than possible, in fact. All you need to do is gather the materials needed to build a second body, soul, and heart. Once you have the raw materials, I can recreate the body in which you currently reside. This second body will not be built off of Sora's memories, and thus will not require them to exist. With a heart and an empty soul built from the materials and in place, I can transfer your mind to the second body and allow the original to dissipate and return to Sora. All that was originally Sora's will return to him, and all that is uniquely you will remain with your mind, now existing in your new body._

"Would that really work...?" Xion asked in awe.

_I guarantee it. Gathering the materials you need will be up to you, however. I will inform you of what they are and where you can find them shortly. In addition to this, I need you to do something for me._

"And what is that?"

_The man you are traveling with… Seda. He had been tormented by my death for the past 400 years and had given birth to an evil entity that is slowly eroding his mind. You must prevent this._

"I don't think I understand..." Xion said. "You want me to stop him from unleashing an evil entity?"

_That is exactly it._

"I can do that, but... why me?"

_There are a number of very interesting conditions that will make themselves known once the pieces are in place. That is in the future, however and it is not to concern you for a while yet. For now, you must continue to travel with Seda. And this path will also take you to the place where you will find your first ingredient for your new body._

"Where is this?"

_The Moon People, who were capable of sealing the demonic entity away. When their powers are yours, your second body can be built._

"So I have to stop a demonic monster from possessing Seda again, but also seek out some moon people. If I do these, can I truly exist?"

_Freedom will be yours. You will not even have to bother with Organization XIII, as Sora will take care of them. You will be your own being, free to go anywhere and do anything._

"What about Roxas and Axel?"

_Ah. I'm afraid your friends will have to find their own way._

"But..."

_If they wish to exist as strongly as you do, they can find a way to do so. Just tell them what you have learned today. All the advice I can give you is that you stay close to Seda. His path runs parallel to yours, and he can help you along the way._

"I suppose..."

_Dawn draws near. You will have to awaken soon. Remember Xion, tell them what you have learned today. Remember the conditions, and you can exist..._

The royal bedroom wavered and faded from view. Xion found her eyes sliding shut, and she found herself floating along a river. As she drifted along, she felt the warm sunlight begin to pour over her face. The wind blew through her hair, and she passed into the waking world.


End file.
